


when it's all said & done

by LinaxLight (domilesl)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Badass Rey, F/M, Jedi Rey, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylo Ren Redemption, POV Ben Solo, Redeemed Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-26 23:37:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16691110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/domilesl/pseuds/LinaxLight
Summary: Months after The Battle on Crait, hope has incensed the galaxy. But as Rey and the Resistance gets ready for their fateful day against The First Order, Kylo Ren’s trajectory has changed its course.And Rey finds herself in the middle of the collision.





	1. short intro to the aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all! So this is a post Last Jedi story that I have thought a lot about. I've read many theories and fics about Bendemption and while I adore them all, my head cannot unravel what I would love to see. So, this is my little take on how I would like Bendemption to happen.
> 
> Chapter 1 is a short intro; the other 3 chapters will be much, much, MUCH longer. prepare yourselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the intro for the story! I couldn’t add more because part 2 is where shit gets real.

There are certain events in the grand scheme of things that when they play out, you can only just watch to see what unfolds.

 

Thirteen months after the  _ Battle on Crait _ , the Resistance had grown in size across the galaxy. Word over Luke Skywalker’s heroic confrontation against the First Order spread like wildfire and ignited hope, just like Admiral Holdo said it would. Doubters who were unsure that the Resistance survived the attack sent holograms to through their secret network, and were shocked to see how many survived.

 

Even if it were just a handful.

 

But Leia’s message had been heard after all. Once word spread that they were alive,  _ Mon Calamari _ ships were sent back to Crait to help recollect any machinery that would help aid in their efforts. A insurgence took place in any systems that could fight back, and the First Order were scrambling to take control. They weren’t necessarily losing the fight; the amount of takeovers they did during those thirteen months weren’t being kept on the down low. But they weren’t being aggressive either.

 

It was rather odd. Considering how much higher they held their cards.

 

They were being rather quiet, to Rey’s confusion.

 

Fearing a surprise attack at a moment’s notice, Rey lost herself in training and meditation. 

 

However, the books she stole from Luke’s cave didn’t make any sense to her. Quite honestly, they frustrated her.  _ Maybe this is what drove Luke to isolation too _ , she mused more than once. The talk about peace and discipline but being somewhat emotionless didn’t gel like how she thought it would. Rey figured taking the texts would be to her benefit, but instead they remained shut inside her drawers, underneath torn robes from when she fought alongside Kylo Ren.

 

Rey didn’t know what to think of the now formally Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. Everytime she plays over those events of him killing Snoke, the both of them dancing alongside each other against the Praetorian Guards, him kneeling down before her during that last Force connection, her brain just became blank. What was she supposed to think anyways? He went from being enemy number one to someone who saved her life in a last minute effort. In a matter of days and weeks. Color her confused.

  
  
*  
  


A couple months after the dust had settled, Poe, Finn, and Rey were all gathered around a hologram that was sent from the Outer Rim. The encryption read that a lowly resourced planet was given an unlimited amount of credits, fuel, and food to endure their bitter and cold season. After the season was over, two people familiar with the donor will take over control of the overview of resources and jobs. The encryption also detailed thanks to the Resistance for sending over the resources, and thanked the anonymous donor that came from them.

 

Except that no one in the Resistance had that much power nor resources to provide for an entire  _ planet _ . Poe’s face bled with worry and confusion that this was The First Order’s doing, manipulating the planet into receiving resources only to takeover the planet after they are desperate for more. After all, it's what they’ve been doing for months now.

 

Finn didn’t seem to agree.

 

“How do we know it's The First Order? They’ve plastered their name and agenda all over the other planets that have fallen under their control. Why hide it now?”

 

Poe throws up his hands in frustration and raises his voice slightly higher to assure them he’s just as baffled. “I-I...Look, the Outer Rim is not far off from where we are. Maybe they’re onto us, and they’re making it seem like this anonymous donor is Resistance. If we respond, maybe it's a trap and they’ll locate us. How else would they know the donor is Resistance? It’s not like we have a spy or something.”

 

Rey’s cheek flared up with embarrassment.

 

Because she probably is a spy and doesn’t know.

 

Truthfully, she doesn’t know if he can see her anymore. All she knows is that she’s tried very hard not to see him. And his form never comes, but she swears sometimes that she feels a strong presence around her, pulling her through the space vacuum that she fights very hard to ignore.

 

So, she closed off any train of thought of him anytime it came.

 

But they came often. And many noticed.

 

But really, what can she say?

 

_ Hey guys, don’t mind me here. I’m just scrunching my brows and forehead in hopes that I can block out the Supreme Leader from these weird force calls we’ve been doing. He can probably see me and hear my surroundings. Did I mention we touched hands? _

 

The leadership were wary of her from the beginning. Truthfully, no one knew what had happened to her prior to her rescue op on Crait. No one had really bothered to ask, especially after she came to the rescue. But the only other person to testify of her whereabouts was Luke. Or so they thought. She doesn’t need Poe or her friends thinking she’s an involuntary spy. 

 

“Rey? You okay?” Poe’s voice cuts through her trance and pulls her back to her present where the two of them await her answer.

 

Her cheeks lose their redness but pale instead.

 

Clearing her voice and steadying her voice, she replies with a quiet and simple “Yeah, I am. I’m just as lost as you guys are.”

 

Poe nods his head and turns back around to face the hologram, hands on hips. “Damn. I guess we all are. Let me talk to surveillance and see if we’ve found anything else that can track this back to The Supreme Leader and his minions.” They exit the private room and before Rey can escape to her room, Poe stops her.

 

“Rey, you look like you just saw a ghost. I think you need a little break.” Rey scoffs in protest but Poe interrupts her by holding up his hand. “Leia and I agreed on this before. You went through a lot a couple months ago. Take a couple of days to get your head back on.” All Rey can really do is just nod; because honestly she is  _ exhausted _ . She nods her head in agreement and stalks off to her room.

 

But before she can escape fully, she hears him mutter words so quiet that the Force  _ literally _ helps her hear what he said:

 

_ Even if we don’t know what the hell you went through _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Upload for next chapter is happening Saturday night :) <3


	2. scorched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> collision course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for their kudos so far <3 I am undeserving.

Rey didn’t realize how soon her chance would come.

 

It was only the sixth month post Crait, when another hologram appeared before the Council. 

 

Since the leadership of the Resistance were being severely overwhelmed due to the growing amount of members, the Council was formed by none other than Poe to help take on responsibility. The Council took on different situations- people, resources, threats, mechanical problems, etc. So naturally, the Council was made up by Poe, Finn, Rose, a few engineers, force-sensitive doctors, diplomats from other planets, and of course, Rey.

 

It shouldn’t bother her that the only reason why they needed Rey was because of her “force powers”, but  _ damn _ , did it itch her robes. Naturally, no one said specifically that was why she was included. But because of all the inquiring looks and curious dialogues surrounding  _ her _ , it made sense.

 

Still, she hated it.

 

There was an instance once where one of Poe’s hot shot pilots drank too much one night and somehow found himself collapsed underneath a pile of heavy metal scraps taken out from old resourced pods. The surrounding crew members couldn’t lift the metal off so they called Rey for help. When she rushed in there, she heard Tolkien screaming for help. She ran over and to her surprise, no one had bothered to use what looked like a claw machine to pick the metal up. Frustrated that she was brought out of mediation for this  _ bantha shit _ , she calmly walked over the the claw machine (despite Tolkien's increased screams for help) and gently lifted off the metal off of him. Once he was okay, they all sheepishly congratulated her for her help, most likely embarrassed that no one had thought of that any sooner. 

 

The next night, Tolkien got stuck in an elevator because he spilled his drink onto the controls, short circuiting the system. Thankfully, she kept her chamber’s locked that time around.

 

The Council grew quiet once the hologram started. It was pre-recorded, and of course encrypted. Rose was focusing on tracking the source of the video more than the actual recording.

 

The planet in the background looked like ruins. It was hard to tell the climate at first, but as a figure made its way into the center, the short breaths of air puffs confirmed the planet was cold, but not frozen.

 

“I’m broadcasting this in hopes it would be received to those who can help. My name is Tam.” Tam is a humanoid woman, young by the looks of it, and dressed in mechanical gear. “I was sent here by my boss to help recover a few parts from Imperial machines. For the galaxy’s safely, I cannot say where I am. I hope you can get enough clues from this video to figure that out.” Tam’s voice suddenly increases in speed and her eyes begin to skim her surroundings. Rey has enough experience to know that something is after her. “Look, i haven’t got the time to explain what I saw but the First Order is coming to this planet. This planet is uninhabitable but they’re coming here for a reason-ah!” Tam’s shoulder gets shot at, and suddenly she’s running. The recording must be coming from a droid, because after the shot at her shoulder, Tam starts to run towards the ruins, shouting at the droid  _ Bucket _ to follow her. She must be hoping to hide from whoever is after her. 

 

The recording starts to get choppy after that, and although the poor droid is doing his best to keep on, Tam’s voice cuts in and out. “The - machine - can’t - looking like - destroy! But you must know - he’s not - but it’s actually - so come, now!” The recording then shuts off, and begins to replay until Finn pauses it. Rose is still at the computer system next to screen where it played, typing furiously to crack down the code.

 

“Alright, let’s get to it, Does anyone recognize her?” Finn asks the Council.

 

Poe’s eyes narrow and he gets up from his seat, zooming in and examining Tam’s face from where the hologram paused at. “Hmm. Maybe. I gotta call an old friend first. He might know something.” He grabs the control and begins to zoom out. “Better question, what planet is this?”

 

Rey has been relatively quiet in these gatherings, so it comes as a shock to both her and the others when her eyes grow wide and she shouts, “It’s Jedha!”. The whole Council looks at her curiously, wondering how she can tell from only a few ruins. She summons a Jedi text to her hand that was perched on a table across the room (she’s not flashy usually but  _ really _ , it's so convenient, and its enough to make Finn crack a smile), and opens it up to a map that was lodged in there. It's not a part of the original text, but somehow it made its way in there. The map contains four planets that the Imperials once occupied. She points to where a circle is marked as  _ Jedha _ , a ruined planet uninhabitable but still salvaged often by those who can access it. With a wave of her hand, the circle pops up as a holographic image, and she enlarges it to show the others.

 

“See how the ruins in map line up directly where the holy city used to be? I’ve been studying this for quite some time now. It has to be it.” Rey concludes with finality, and for once, she appreciates the way everyone hangs onto her words.

 

“Okay so let’s say it is Jedha. Why would the First Order return there?” Poe replays the holographic message again. The Council begins debating the reasons- grabbing more resources, perhaps they have a base there, maybe they’re making Starkiller Base 2.0? Rey laughs inwardly at the silliness of yet  _ another explodable planet death machine _ . 

 

Rose voices pipes up among the rest. “It’s Jedha, alright!” She hurries over to Poe to show him the location of where the recording started. “It’s hard triangulating the pinpoint location, but this is our best guess. Rey was right about the ruins, too.” She sends Rey a small smile. “From what I’ve gathered by other intelligence, there’s been more increased activity around that area. There’s something in the ruins that they must want.”

 

After discussing all other possibilities, they decide the best thing to do is to travel there and see what’s happening firsthand. If the First Order are hiding out there, they need to figure out why, and something tells them it’s not a good reason.

 

For some unknown explanation, Rey is hesistant to go there. The Force isn’t telling her much about this planet, but she gets the feeling something is waiting for her there. She just hopes it isn’t  _ someone _ . 

  
  
  


*

  
  


General Organa decides it might be best to send a small crew first before invading to see what the First Order is up to. Rey is leading the expedition; she knows the will of the Force well enough that it wants her to go, and she gets the feeling Leia knows so too. She desperately wants to take Rose and Finn with her, but ultimately they are needed more here at base. 

 

So, it really just leaves her and Poe.

 

Which is fine. 

 

As long as he keeps his distance.

 

He’s not as intrusive as the others, and he doesn’t demand to know where she went off to after Ahch-To, but it doesn’t ease her mind any less. If anything, he’s probably the most suspicious out of all of them. Having to spend about two days alone with him tells her he might not be as respectful as before.

 

When the day comes, he leads her to a small hangar where a small ship awaits their boarding. For obvious reasons, they can’t take any old rebel ships, the  _ Falcon _ , or his X-wing. His crew managed to scrap apart a few ships and deform them to create a basic, flying ship, with no ties to any affiliation or side. 

 

She hates it.

 

The detachment of the ship has her feeling even more nervous. Her energy seems to transfer over to Poe, who has just sent them into lightspeed. He starts pacing around what little walk space they have. Rey is sort of just laying back on her co-pilot chair, watching the blue and white streaks surround her. The chaos of the past few months have garnered her  _ tired _ .

 

Poe stops his pacing and turns to her, face expectant.

“What can I expect on Jedha?”

 

Rey quirks her eyebrow. “I don’t know exactly. I’ve never been; I just know what the map says about it.” She pulls out the map from a hidden pocket behind her robes. She opens it up, waves her hand again, and the holographic image pops up again. “Let’s see. Here are the ruins, where Tam was last seen in the recording. Did you ever find out who she could be?”

 

Poe shakes his head. “I’m still waiting to get back from a friend.” The dashboard on the ship startles both of them with a mix of a blinking red light and a slight beeping. “Actually, that’s him right now.” He kindly pushes Rey to the side and answers the call. An older but handsome man with olive brown skin and dreads flashes onto their call screen. Poe shows off his signature smirk to the man, the same one he often shows her when he’s had a few too many.

 

“Why are you smiling?” The man inquires from Poe rather gruffly. 

 

“Ah, c’mon Yeager, it’s been a minute!” Poe throws up his arms in excitement.

 

The man simply stares at Poe for a few seconds, and continues on as if he’d heard nothing. “I saw the recording you sent me. That’s definitely Tam alright. I lost signal from her about two days ago. I sent her to Crait to help collect any junk parts that was left over from your showdown with the First Order, hoping to help some of your people rebuild. “ His face contorts itself into one of worry, and Rey’s chest sends a ping of pain to her heart. “She wasn’t supposed to go to Jedha. I’m not sure why she did.”

 

“Maybe the First Order took her there?” Poe offers. 

 

Yeager shakes his head. “Tam didn’t seem like she was brought there unwillingly. I’m actually making my way there now. She might still be in trouble.”

 

Poe smiles grimly. “We’re going to be making landfall in a couple hours. Let me send you a report before you leave. If there’s a heavy First Order presence, I want to make sure you’re safe.” Yeager nods and before he can switch off the feed, Poe stops him abruptly. “Wait- who sent you to Crait?”

 

Yeager quirks an eyebrow at him. “You think you’re my only Resistance friend?” Before Poe can respond, the feed switches off and leaves Poe wildy wondering. 

 

Rey sits back down on her co-pilot chair next to Poe, both somewhat in a gloomier state than they both were before. This Yeager fellow is clearly worried about Tam. The muscles beneath her skin tense up; she needs to meditate or train,  _ something _ . Poe must be feeling the same way because he offers to do the first watch. Their trip is only 6 hours but since they’re not sure what they’re up against, they need to rest.

 

Rey takes his offer and hunkers down to the lower part of the ship, where a chamber resides. She slips inside and sets herself in the middle of the floor. 

 

_ There is peace _ .

 

Rey feels herself slowly start to relax. Her shoulders slag, eyes closed, and she doesn’t stop her back from feeling the floor. She’s barely registering the fact that she’s actually falling asleep. 

 

_ There is peace. _

 

_ But what is peace? _

 

Before she can ask where that last sentence came from, her world fades into oblivion as she drifts off to sleep, and a soft lull sucks her surrounding sound like a vacuum. 

  
  
  


*

  
  


They make landfall during Rey’s shift. Poe wakes up and handles the ship to navigate them to a safe spot to land.

 

The recording didn’t do the destruction of Jedha justice.

 

Rey could tell that Jedha was once a beautiful city, even if she hadn’t read about it in the map Luke left behind. The metropolis that reigned over the space that was now literal empty space churned a certain emotion in the both of them. 

 

“You’ve heard of what happened here, right?” Poe’s voice softly interrupts the undisturbed silence in the cockpit. Rey nods her head. She recalls Rose telling her the story about Jyn and Cassian, making it seem like the galaxy’s greatest love tragedy. “Poor Jyn.”

 

They continue hovering low around the ruins and ultimately land a couple of miles away behind a row of plateaus that's big enough to hide their ship. They survey the land after stepping off. So far, the place seems deserted. Big chunks of torn, red land is everywhere. It would’ve looked beautiful, except for the poisonous gases that reeked off of them. Poe made sure to bring gas masks, and hands one off to Rey. 

 

Their trek starts off on a bad foot; quite literally. Rey has to help hoist Poe, while muttering curses of  _ why me _ , off of a pile of what  _ looked _ like dirt but ended up being a form of ancient quicksand. There’s no vegetation on site. The atmosphere is filled with somewhat breathable air, but you had to be on ground level to even breathe without the help of a gas mask. At one point, the pair of them sort of look at each other warily. 

 

If the First Order was here, first of all, where are they?

 

They couldn’t be on the other side of the planet; that part is a literal hole. Their view from space warranted them enough to let them know this was the only habitable part. 

 

They decide to make camp just outside the skirts of the ruins, opposite direction of their ship. The climate was definitely cold. They had brought a portable heating system, worrying that a campfire would trigger some sort of signal to any stormtroopers. Plus, with all the gases in the air, they didn’t want to risk any possible scenarios. Rey’s breath comes out in small puffs, and if she wasn’t so tense, she would marvel about it.

 

Poe starts fiddling with his outer coat, and it takes Rey a couple seconds and some  _ Force mind digging _ to realize he’s gonna offer his coat to her. She gets it; she’s a desert rat. But she politely declines and notices he’s rather relieved at the fact.

 

She does everything she can to hide her rolling eyes. 

  
  


*

  
  


Rey would be lying if she said she hasn’t practiced certain combat Force trick moves she’s heard about in folklore. 

 

More often than not, she pretends to be awakened on surprise by an attacker and quickly uses the Force to give her the extra push needed to jump from her lying form, stand up, jump over her attacker, and send them off flying. 

 

So imagine her surprise when she feels an ominous presence sneaking up from behind her sleeping form. She knows it’s not Poe- she’s been around him long enough to know when it's him. But she can’t feel him near her-

 

_ Shit. Where the fuck is Poe? _

 

She quickly opens her eyes and does her newly donned move, jumping over a shocked Stormtrooper who can’t seem to register the fact she’s no longer laying down. She lands behind him and turns around to send him off blasting towards the ruins.

 

Poor guy, he had no chance. 

 

She begins packing her bag and grabs Poe bag as well. 

 

Her sense of urgency spikes tenfold. What if someone took Poe?

 

She begins running towards the Stormtrooper she had sent flying. Upon reaching him, she begins rummaging through his belt. No comlink, no transmitter, no radio, nothing.  _ Hmm _ , she thinks. How do they communicate? She curses, wishing again for the hundredth time that she had brought Finn along instead of Poe.

 

There’s a slight rumbling happening by the ruins and Rey suddenly sees an opening that wasn’t there before. By all the ruins, there’s a small cave-like entrance that’s closed, stationed right under a specific pile of ruins that smoky gases form off from. Her Force signature waves and she begins walking towards it, in an almost trance-like state; something wasn’t right about this cave.

 

Before she could hear it, she feels a bolt coming straight towards her. She’s got a good head start enough to do a quick one-eighty and stop the bolt but something intercepts the bolt first. 

 

Huh.

 

The Stormtrooper she had sent flying apparently wasn’t happy with her. He was stunned to see something stop the bolt but quickly recovers.

 

That is until he gets lifted up from the ground.

 

He starts to clutch around his throat as if something were blocking his airway. His legs flailing around. 

 

Then his lifeless body gets thrown back onto the ground. 

 

Rey is too shocked to move. Her mind is screaming, begging her to  _ run, damn it Rey, run  _ but she can’t even muster enough energy to process that she’s back trodding towards the cave entrance, which has now opened. A flood of white bodies turns around the corner at where they had set up camp. The Stormtroopers pause to see the body of their fellow soldier before looking around the area for the culprit. 

 

She’s certain that they eye her, that they  _ see _ her, until a black gloved hand suddenly comes around from behind her and pushes her all the way back into the cave. The cave rumbles again and now its closed again.

 

_ Great, death by cave,  _ she thinks.

 

The black gloved hand spins her around and pins her to the cave wall. The hand lands on her mouth to cover her protests and another hand comes up to put a finger in front of their lips, or in this case, their gas mask.

 

She’s never been happier to see Poe. She’s terrified and grateful all at once. The Stormtroopers outside have no idea that she is in here. She hears the growing shouts and commands for the  _ girl _ but since the caved closed, they walk right past them. 

 

Rey registers that both her and Poe’s bodies are heaving rapidly, both tired and gasping for air that their adrenaline robbed. He can’t seem to get away from her fast enough; instead his hands linger on her, which strikes Rey as odd because Poe isn’t the touchy-protective kind. If anything, she’s deduced long enough that she probably intimidates him a little by how far he seems to stand away from her.

 

Before she can ask him to  _ please _ get his hands off of her, she hears her name being called out. 

 

“Rey! Thank the Maker, you’re okay.” Poe’s figure suddenly appears before her and the persons next to her. He must have came from the farther end of the cave, running and stopping before her a few feet away. 

 

Blinking in her confusion, she decides she would rather find out who saved her life sooner than later. She takes the hand that is covering her mouth and contorts it behind their back, she knocks out their knees, and holds them in place with a quick Force move. She goes to make her way in front of the stranger but Poe blocks her.

 

“Rey, wait!” Poe rushes to the person’s aid, but Rey freezes him in place, too. 

 

“Poe, we don’t know if this person is dangerous or not!” Rey goes to remove the gas mask from the frozen figure kneeling before her.

 

She can barely register Poe yelling at her to  _ hold on, Rey, wait, it's not what you think _ , before dropping the gas mask as if she was scorned to its touch.

 

*

 

It’s Kylo Ren. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say hi to me on Twitter! @LinaxLight

**Author's Note:**

> Colosseum will be put on hold until further notice! I need to write this fic first before my head explodes.


End file.
